Monday 13th December 2021 - Possible Closure of the Cliff Top Path and Late This Year

Although, since Covid, we no longer attend the monthly Parish Council meetings, we do still look at the agendas and following the meeting, read the minutes. Those who don’t follow these may be interested to read item 11 on the draft minutes for the meeting held on 1st December which are now published on the Parish Council’s website. It would appear, from the minutes, that Royal Cromer Golf Club are considering closing the section of the cliff top footpath which traverses the golf course. Although the minutes indicate this section is a permissive path, looking at the Norfolk County Council website this is not permissive but a public right of way. It is the County Council who hold the definitive maps which other bodies, such as the Ordnance Survey use for their maps. Also there is a consideration that the County Council can force a private landowner to provide a path over their land, if this will provide a benefit to the general public. So all in all, I think this will prove to be a highly controversial act on behalf of the Golf Club should they decide to close the path. They will also need to consider the public right of way that runs from the Cromer Road, down the side of Overstrand Hall and over the golf course to join the cliff top path. If they choose to close the cliff top path the path from the Cromer Road, will be frustrated and finish on the cliff top in a dead end.

Before we moved to the village, the weekend falling in mid-December was the one when we escaped from the over commercialism of Christmas in Bucks to spend a few days in Overstrand. Using the Coastal Hopper bus, each year we walked different sections of the coast path, ate Sunday lunch at the Red Lion which then was under different ownership to today, went to the cinema and generally chilled out. We always purchased a lottery ticket in Woolworths in Cromer and on our walk across where the Overstrand Hotel once stood, enjoyed the fragrance of the winter heliotrope flowers. However, this year there are only one or two flowers to be seen which a few years ago, on our weekend stay, would have proven a disappointment but now, we will be patient until more spikes erupt and the unusual flowers open and emit their perfume.